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Easy Cilantro Lime Chicken Taco Salad

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This crazy delicious Cilantro Lime Chicken Taco Salad is bursting with flavor! Juicy, taco-seasoned ground chicken piled on top of crisp, fresh romaine lettuce and layered in with bright and sweet cherry tomatoes, corn, red onion, and tender avocado. All drizzled with a creamy herby cilantro lime dressing that is so good! This is a salad you must try!

Round bowl filled with lettuce topped with cherry tomato, cooked chicken, corn, red onion with a green dressing on top with a jar of the green dressing behind it.

We love tacos and this super Easy Cilantro Lime Chicken Taco Salad is my go-to on Taco Tuesday or any day we are having taco night in our house. I am obsessed with big salads and this one is my new favorite. I have made it three weeks in a row and the flavors surprise me every time I make it!

It combines juicy ground chicken seasoned with taco seasoning and cooked until crispy brown. Piled on top of crisp romaine lettuce along with vibrant sweet cherry tomatoes, corn, red onion, and diced avocado. The best part of all is the insane creamy cilantro lime dressing that is everything in this recipe!

Close up of chicken taco salad drizzled with cilantro green dressing with a jar of the dressing behind it.

Why you’ll love this taco salad recipe

  • It is everything you want in a taco but in a big healthy salad!
  • You can make it in less than 20 minutes!
  • It stores great and is a wonderful meal prep recipe.
  • It is already gluten-free!
  • The cilantro lime dressing is literally the best summer dressing, like ever!

Ingredients you will need

How to Make a chicken taco salad

You can make this recipe in less than 20 minutes any day of the week!

  1. Cook the chicken. Heat up a skillet to medium heat, add some olive oil and the ground chicken. Break up the chicken and toss and cook it for a few minutes until most of the pink is gone. Sprinkle on the taco seasoning, toss, and cook until the chicken is nice and golden brown. This takes about 5-6 minutes.
  2. Make the cilantro lime dressing. Add all dressing ingredients to the bowl of a food processor and pulse on high until a creamy, smooth dressing forms. It is so good!
  3. Make the salad. Add the sliced romaine lettuce to a large bowl, and top with the cherry tomatoes, diced avocado, corn, red onion, cooked ground chicken, and shredded cheese.
  4. Top and serve. Drizzle the dressing over the salad and serve with your favorite tortilla chips. Yum!
Cooked ground chicken in a round gray skillet
Cook the chicken
Cilantro, sliced avocado, mustard and olive oil in the bowl of a food processor
Add dressing ingredients to food processor
Blended creamy cilantro dressing in a food processor
Blend until creamy
Diced avocado, sliced red tomatoes, cooked chicken, shredded cheese, corn, sliced red onion all piled on top of green lettuce in a round bowl
Assemble salad
Spoon of green creamy dressing being drizzled over a chicken taco salad
Drizzle on dressing
Bow of salad topped with a few drizzles of creamy green cilantro dressing with tomatoes, avocados and corn and chicken in the salad
Serve

How delicious does that look? Omg! You will love this salad and probably want to make it every week for sure!

You can make your own taco seasoning or use store-bought.

Large bowl of chicken taco salad topped with green creamy dressing with tortilla chips broken up next to it and a striped towel behind it

How to store this chicken taco salad

This salad stores great and is perfect for meal prepping. The best method for storing this salad and any salad is to store the chicken, veggies, and dressing separately, then assemble them when ready to eat.

  • Let the chicken cool completely and place it into an airtight container.
  • Place all of the veggies in airtight containers as well.
  • The dressing can be stored best in a mason jar fitted with a tight lid but you can also store it in an airtight container as well.
  • Place everything into the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Yay!

Make ahead tips

Making this chicken taco salad ahead of time is so super easy for you to do on Sunday and enjoy it all week long. This is also a great salad to pack for a healthy lunch.

To make this salad ahead simply follow the instructions for storing this salad above. Easy peasy.

Side angle of tacos salad with a few cherry tomatoes and broken up tortilla chips behind it.

Serving Suggestions

This recipe is great as a complete meal all on its own but you can also serve it alongside some other healthy side dishes. Here are some of my faves.

More Mexican-Inspired Healthy Recipes

Recipe tips and variations

  • You can use ground chicken or ground turkey in this recipe. You can even make it meat free and use crumbled tofu or beans in place of the meat.
  • Switch up the greens and use spinach or sliced kale in place of the romaine lettuce.
  • Make this recipe dairy free by using dairy-free shredded cheese or just leave the cheese out. It will still be crazy good!
  • Add even more veggies by including some diced bell peppers or roasted sweet potatoes.
  • To make your own taco seasoning – Combine the following ingredients together in a small bowl- 1 tablespoon chili powder, 1 teaspoon ground cumin, 1 teaspoon paprika, ½ teaspoon onion powder, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon oregano, ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon black pepper.
  • Use air fryer boneless chicken breast instead of ground chicken. So easy and only takes 20 minutes to make it!
  • Add some salsa or sour cream for even more toppings.
  • To store this salad: Place all ingredients separately into airtight containers and store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Assemble when ready to eat!

Did you try this recipe? If you did then please leave a comment and rating below. I would love to hear from you!

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Bow of salad topped with a few drizzles of creamy green cilantro dressing with tomatoes, avocados and corn and chicken in the salad

Easy Cilantro Lime Chicken Taco Salad

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  • Author: Amy Estes
  • Total Time: 16 minutes
  • Yield: 4 1x
  • Diet: Gluten Free
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Description

This crazy delicious Cilantro Lime Chicken Taco Salad is bursting with flavor! Juicy, taco seasoned ground chicken piled on top of crisp, fresh romaine lettuce and layered in with bright and sweet cherry tomatoes, corn, red onion and tender avocado. All drizzled with a creamy herby cilantro lime dressing that is so good! This is a salad you must try!

Ingredients

Scale

For the salad

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 pound ground chicken
  • 2–4 tablespoons store-bought taco seasoning – see recipe notes for how to make your own
  • 2 bunches of romaine lettuce (about 4–5 cups) sliced thin
  • ½ large red onion – sliced thin (about ½ cup)
  • 1 cup sliced cherry tomatoes
  • 1 large ripe avocado – peeled and diced into 1-inch pieces
  • 1 cup corn – I used corn on the cobb that I sliced off of the cobb 
  • ½ cup shredded Mexican blend or cheddar cheese

For the Creamy Cilantro Lime Dressing

  • 2 cups packed fresh cilantro
  • ½ a ripe avocado – peeled and sliced in half
  • ¼ cup fresh squeezed lime juice plus the zest of 1 lime
  • ¼ cup olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar or rice wine vinegar
  • 1 tablespoons dijon mustard
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Other

  • Tortilla chips
  • Salsa
  • Sour cream

Instructions

  1. Cook the chicken. Heat up a skillet to medium heat, add some olive oil and the ground chicken. Break up the chicken and toss and cook it for a few minutes until most of the pink is gone. Sprinkle on the taco seasoning, toss, and cook until the chicken is nice and golden brown. This takes about 5-6 minutes. Set aside. 
  2. Make the cilantro lime dressing. Add all dressing ingredients to the bowl of a food processor and pulse on high until a creamy, smooth dressing forms. It is so good!
  3. Make the salad. Add the sliced romaine lettuce to a large bowl, and top with the cherry tomatoes, diced avocado, corn, red onion, cooked ground chicken, and shredded cheese.
  4. Top and serve. Drizzle the dressing over the salad and serve with your favorite tortilla chips. Yum!

    Equipment

    Notes

    • You can use ground chicken or ground turkey in this recipe. You can even make it meat free and use crumbled tofu or beans in place of the meat.
    • Switch up the greens and use spinach or sliced kale in place of the romaine lettuce.
    • Make this recipe dairy free by using dairy-free shredded cheese or just leave the cheese out. It will still be crazy good!
    • Add even more veggies by including some diced bell peppers or roasted sweet potatoes.
    • To make your own taco seasoning – Combine the following ingredients together in a small bowl- 1 tablespoon chili powder, 1 teaspoon ground cumin, 1 teaspoon paprika, ½ teaspoon onion powder, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon oregano, ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon black pepper.
    • Add some salsa or sour cream for even more toppings.
    • Use air fryer boneless chicken breast instead of ground chicken. So easy and only takes 20 minutes to make it!
    • To store this salad: Place all ingredients separately into airtight containers and store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Assemble when ready to eat!
      • Prep Time: 10
      • Cook Time: 6
      • Category: Quick and easy salads
      • Method: Assembled
      • Cuisine: Mexican
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